Dennis M. Daley

Fostering Organizational Trust in North Carolina: The Pivotal Role of Administrators and Political Leaders

Theoretically, organizational trust establishes the framework for productivity. Trust creates an environment that encourages cooperation and allows employees to concentrate their attention on the task. Employing regression analysis with cross-sectional data from the 1994 State Employee Survey, this research examines employee attitudes of organizational trust toward those in top management positions. Demographic controls (education, pay level, race, and gender) exhibit no substantive effect. Attitudes assessing internal job characteristics (benefits, extrinsic rewards, and work environment) demonstrate a relationship in fostering trust. External work characteristics (job satisfaction, supervisory evaluation, and political interference) also emerge as determinants of organizational trust.

Humanistic Management and Organizational Success: The Effect of Job and Work Environment Characteristics on Organizational Effectiveness, Public Responsiveness, and Job Satisfaction

This paper is based on a 1983 attitudinal survey of Iowa public employees examining the effect of job (job challenge, role clarity, and performance appraisal fairness) and work environment (personal significance, supervisory relationship, and employee freedom), characteristics — used here as indicators of humanistic management — on organizational success (perceptions of organizational effectiveness, public responsiveness, and job satisfaction). The results document three findings: (1) organizations are perceived as being successful, (2) job and work environment characteristics are viewed as favorable, and (3) an across-the-board, albeit moderate, relationship between organizational success and humanistic management practices is perceived to exist.

Management Practices and the Uninvolved Manager: The Effect of Supervisory Attitudes on Perceptions of Organizational Trust and Change Orientation

This paper examines supervisor attitudes towards management practices (work group relationships, relationships with their own supervisors, performance appraisal systems, and organizational commitment) and their relationship to the supervisors own sense of managerial involvement (as measured through Organizational Trust and Change Orientation scales). Using regression analysis, a relationship between “organizational humanist” management practices (especially with respect to intergroup relationships and job challenge) and managerial involvement is confirmed.

Supervisory Perceptions of the Impact of Public Sector Personnel Practices on the Achievement of Multiple Goals: Putting the Strategic into Human Resource Management

Strategic human resource management enhances productivity and the effectiveness of organizations. Research shows that when organizations employ such personnel practices as internal career ladders, formal training systems, results-oriented performance appraisal, employment security, employee voice and participation, broadly defined jobs, and performance-based compensation, they are more able to achieve their goals and objectives. Using ordinal regression analyses of data from a survey of North Carolina county social service directors and supervisors, this study examines the extent to which strategic human resource management is perceived to affect outcome assessments (or performance measurements) for welfare reform. Although strategic human resource management practices are perceived to be present, with training and employment security having notable impacts, they clearly are not a predominant feature in North Carolina counties.

Merit Pay Enters With a Whimper: the Initial Federal Civil Service Reform Experience

This paper examines the impact of the Federal merit pay system on motivation. The 1980 Federal Employee Attitude Survey includes a sample of mid-level managers and supervisors (GS 13-19) and SESers who actually experienced a merit pay cycle. This enables us to analyze the differences between merit pay recipients and nonrecipients. Basically, there were no major differences. Merit pay recipients do not appear to be any more motivated nor do they perceive their organizations as being more effective or responsive.

The Civil Service Reform Act and Performance Appraisal: A Research Note on Federal Employee Perceptions:

The Civil Service Reform Act was intended to transform the public sector. This paper draws upon surveys conducted in 1979 by the Office of Personnel Management and in 1986 by the Merit Systems Protection board to contrast federal employee perceptions towards performance appraisal. Identical or nearly identical items included in both surveys tap attitudes that indicate that the new objectives-based performance appraisal system does not appear to have garnered much in the way of added support. Perceptions regarding blanket ratings, participative objectives setting, feedback, the fairness of standards, and the fairness of ratings have changed but little. The change that has occured has been, for the most part, in the way of introducing uncertainty.

Strategic Human Resource Management: Perceptions among North Carolina County Social Service Professionals

Strategic human resource management (SHRM) enhances productivity and the effectiveness of organizations. Research shows that when organizations employ such personnel practices as internal career ladders, formal training systems, results-oriented performance appraisal, employment security, employee voice/participation, broadly defined jobs, and performance-based compensation, they are more able to achieve their goals and objectives. Using a survey of North Carolina county social service professionals, this study examines (1) the extent to which strategic human resource management is perceived, (2) the relationship of these SHRM practices to demographic variables such as age, ethnic status, sex, education, supervisory status and tenure, and county population, and (3) the relationship between SHRM and outcome assessments for welfare reform (unemployment change and organizational report card measures). While SHRM practices are perceived to be present in North Carolina counties, they clearly are not a predominant feature. Weak demographic influences, especially in terms of population and supervisory status and tenure, are evident. Especially disturbing are the influences those demographic influences have on employment security. Few relationships are found (and those only weak) involving outcome assessments.

Attribution theory and the glass ceiling: Career development among federal employees

Individuals who are not promoted or miss out on developmental opportunities suffer career setbacks that can greatly, and adversely, effect motivation and productivity. Attribution theory examines the causal inferences that subordinates themselves hold as to why they failed to receive promotion or were denied a developmental opportunity. The glass ceiling phenomenon also readily lends itself to attributional interpretations. Using the 1991/1992 Career Development (Glass Ceiling) Survey conducted by the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, this study first looked at the barriers to promotion. In general, a pattern emerges in which attributions viewed as long-term and beyond the control of the individual to remedy are strongly attested to. Added to these general perceptions are heightened concerns expressed by women and minorities that the biases and in-group, buddy systems operate even more adversely against them.

An Overview of Benefits for the Public Sector Not on the Fringes Anymore

Benefits compose a major portion of the total compensation package. Along with wages and salaries, benefits serve to recruit, motivate, and retain employees This article provides a descriptive overview of the myriad of benefits (and their sub-options) available for public sector use Health care (medical, dental, vision, and wellness) and pension (social security, government retvrement, and deferred compensation) systems are reviewed Finally, special pay options (overtime, moonlighting, business expenses, and paid time off) and employee development are detavled

Political and Occupational Barriers to the Implementation of Affirmative Action: Administrative, Executive, and Legislative Attitudes toward Representative Bureaucracy1

This article reports the results of a five-state survey of administrators, executives, and legislators from Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, and Wisconsin. The survey was conducted in 1979 regarding attitudes toward representative bureaucracy/affirmative action and policies in support of improved conditions for ethnic minorities and women. Government elites are divided in their views of representative bureaucracy with more registering disapproval than approval; however, this “opposition” is not supported by demands that less effort be expended on such efforts. Political and occupational characteristics (ideology, party, state, age, seniority, and education) show slight effect. Some evidence exists supporting a self-interest thesis among administrators and a general politicization of the topic.